Skip to main content

ESA Data Ontology

Search from vocabulary

Content language

Concept information

Projects > V - Z > VORTEX

Preferred term

VORTEX  

Definition

  • The Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes EXperiment (VORTEX) will be held in the central and southern Plains during the spring seasons of 1994 and 1995. Broadly stated, this experiment is designed to address current research questions relating to tornadogenesis and tornado dynamics. It will be hosted by the National Severe Storms Laboratory, and will involve the collaboration of the University of Oklahoma and the Center for the Analysis and Prediction of Storms (CAPS), Texas A&M University, the University of Illinois, Texas Tech University, New Mexico Tech, the University of West Virginia, the University of Alabama at Huntsville, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the National Science Foundation (NSF), NOAA/NWS (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Weather Service), and Atmosphere Environment Service (AES; Canada). The primary benefit of VORTEX will be the new knowledge generated through careful analysis of the data sets obtained during the field experiments. This new knowledge should lead to some very practical benefits. This experiment is being executed with a set of specific scientific hypotheses in mind, as documented elsewhere ( " Scientific Objectives" ), but the general sense of the experiment is to increase understanding of tornadogenesis, thereby enhancing the ability to anticipate tornado development. Many of the scientific objectives are closely tied to the mission statement of SELS (soon to become SPC). With the deployment of Doppler radars around the nation, it is becoming increasingly obvious that (1) even this exciting new tool has some limits in its tornado detection capability, as do all weather radars, and (2) not all mesocyclonic circulations detectable by a Doppler radar will become tornadic. Since not all detectable mesocyclones go on to produce tornadoes, it is quite crucial to tornado warning operations at the WFO level (in the reorganized NWS) that we have some means to distinguish tornadic from non-tornadic circulations (as seen on a WSR-88D). Otherwise, excessive fal! se alarms could damage NWS credibility. Tornadoes produced from non-mesocyclonic storms, about which we hope to learn in VORTEX, are another challenge with direct application to operations. In the warning process, it is not only important to know if a tornado is about to form, but also to be able to predict when the tornado will dissipate. VORTEX is designed to acquire new information that may allow users of WSR-88D data to interpret radar signatures to diagnose tornado dissipation, and to predict the formation of additional tornadoes in cyclic storms. In the process, an important issue becomes the interaction between the potentially tornadic storm and its environment. Modelling work (numerical and mathematical) and some limited observational studies have suggested some ways to distinguish tornado-prone environments from those that are not, but these concepts have yet to be given an adequate test. Given that the detection of a potentially tornadic storm is more likely when the forecasters have anticipated such a possibility than when they have not, the VORTEX operating plan also includes some experimental forecasting techniques that may become prototypes for how operational tornado forecasting will be done in the future. Preventing false alarms is just as important as not missing important events. Many of the hypotheses being investigated in VORTEX are designed to resolve these important issues and explore new methods for dealing with the tornado problem. Especially exciting will be the incorporation of some experimental numerical modelling on the mesoscale and the storm scale, with the participation of CAPS (Center for the Analysis and Prediction of Storms, affiliated with the University of Oklahoma). Operational implementation of such numerical models is in its infancy, but it appears quite likely that mesoscale and storm scale models will eventually have some role in operations. By participating in VORTEX, a number of NWS forecasters from the NOC and the SPC will have a chance to experiment with using such forecasting input. This gives those individuals an opportunity to have input on how such models will be implemented in the future, based on their experiences. A continuing problem with introduction of new technology is that forecasters often have so little experience with the new systems that they have no chance to influence the acquisition and evolution of the new technological tools until very late in the game. By bein! g involved with VORTEX, the participating forecasters (and their associated agencies) have a real chance to affect the implementation of new forecasting techniques and technology. Similar benefits accrue for the participating forecasters (and, their associated agencies within the NWS) as a result of interacting with the principal scientific investigators. This is especially important for the OUN NOC by virtue of their combined research-operations mission. By their involvement, contact by the NWS with the leading scientists in the area gives the NWS an opportunity to (a) learn about what the research community is doing in this topic area, and (b) offer their insights about what problems the NWS is encountering. This experiment is an ideal venue for encouraging research-operations interaction that can only benefit all of the agencies involved. Finally, the new knowledge we hope to gain through VORTEX tornado dynamics studies should enable structural engineers to establish improved design standards to mitigate tornado damage. For more information, link to "http://mrd3.nssl.ucar.edu/~vortex/OpsPlan/WWW_TOC.good.html" (en)

Broader concept

URI

https://gcmd.earthdata.nasa.gov/kms/concept/f1d00bf7-7c6c-419a-b609-b7c8ee1fb3cf

Download this concept:

RDF/XML TURTLE JSON-LD Last modified 12/6/20